Soupe Du Jour:

Blue screen of death?

Microsoft hasn't retired the blue screen of death we all knew so well... It's back, and it's got a new name: The black and blue fading screens of update hell. The first thing you notice... is you can't just turn your machine off and go to bed. You have to choose update and shut down or update and restart. The next morning, it starts off so innocently... "Hi" and then "We've got a few updates for you" But quickly it turns more sinister, "Do not turn off your computer" And you notice the lack of punctuation. "This may take a few minutes" A few minutes? I once let it run for over an hour with no end in sight. "This is taking longer than expected" All the while the screen goes from black to a fading blue. Is Microsoft teasing us with a reminder of the dreaded blue screen of death? I press the reset button. See? I didn't turn it off, I reset! Really, I promise! Finally, Microsoft relents, and I get my machine back. But I feel more like I'm borrowing it. From Microsoft.

Descent News

Sigtrap Games dropped PC 6DOF'ers a nice surprise today in the form of the release of Sublevel Zero Redux, an expanded version of their hit indie 6DOF shooter. It features a whole slew of new features, including new classes, new enemies, a remixed campaign, VR support, and more. In celebration of the release, they're listing the game for 35% off, and owners of vanilla Sublevel Zero will receive the updated version for free. From the Steam News announcement page:

Additionally, the original composer for the music of Sublevel Zero returns and has added new audio tracks to the Redux version.

I'm of the opinion that Sublevel Zero is the best 6DOF game since Descent (or Forsaken, if you were into that one too). It's a fun, very replayable corridor shooter, and the rogue-lite elements (procedural generation, perma-death, and crafting) are so unobtrusive and well-implemented that it adds to the charm of the game without bogging down the intense moment-to-moment action. At just under 10 bucks on sale today, there's no reason any Descent fan shouldn't pick it up.

According to today's Kickstarter update, the Revival team has also stated that they plan to bring this to Early Access as of March 13 for the admission fee of 25 bucks. KS Backers at the "beta" level will receive more frequent builds of the game for testing. They also have said that at least five of the singleplayer levels are now at least at the alpha level.

Considering that the original release date was slated to be Q1 2017, and that the KS only barely made it's goal, I'm concerned that this may be an admission that Revival has run out of both time and money for this project. With that in mind, the second teaser is more of a fully-featured - and quite promising - demo, with a more robust and updated Challenge mode (with a second level!), functioning difficulty levels (yes, they're called Trainee, Rookie, Hotshot, Ace, and Insane), and a solid graphical update featuring a superb presentation. Check it out now!

The day has finally arrived. [size=150]It's release time![/size] Like a big rocket bound for the moon, we are going to release Sol Contingency: Proving Grounds in three stages.

1) The first is our CLOSED BETA starting Monday, November 2, limited to ~50 players.2) We will follow up with a second, OPEN BETA phase around the middle of November.3) After that, we're making the release official with the full, community-tested and rock solid final version of Proving Grounds.4) And once that's done, it's time to get the next step of Sol-C kickstarted, with your help!

Since our crowdfunding campaign for the full version of Sol Contingency needs some time to be fully assembled, but we want to get the game into your hands, we have decided that this staged release is the best of both worlds: if you are a die-hard Sol-C fan, the closed beta may be your ticket in first, while everybody will get a shot at testing the open beta not much later. We want your feedback on the game and we want to see whether it stands the test of the many different machines it will be run on. After all, when we go about making the next version, we want to be sure you enjoy Proving Grounds for a long time!

"How can I get in to the closed beta?" you ask. Well, how about showing us that you're worth your salt by telling us how long you've been following us? Did you tell others about the project? Have you been an avid poster on our forum? Are you a dedicated server administrator willing to help people get started playing? Have you beta-tested a game before, do you own a YouTube channel or blog, or are you even from the press around the web and want to cover Proving Grounds?

If you can say "YES" to any of these questions, keep your eyes peeled for exact instructions on how to get in when we make the beta available on Monday! If you're a newcomer to Sol-C, the open beta will be for you -- no restrictions, everyone can participate, just hang in a few more days and we will be ready to give you a shot too.

Watch this space on Monday to see how this unfolds. Buckle up, pilots!